A new record was set on Saturday as SWD Cricket hosted the annual KFC provincial mini cricket festival at the Recreation Grounds in Oudtshoorn. A total of 808 players from 101 schools from all over the region attended the festival.
The KFC mini cricket festival is a wonderful initiative that has brought cricket to countless young South Africans of all backgrounds. Superstars of today including Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Tristan Stubbs and Anrich Nortjé have come through the Mini-Cricket system.
KFC Mini Cricket is about more than just the game. It’s an opportunity to teach children valuable life lessons and social skills such as teamwork and discipline, while promoting a balanced and active lifestyle.
Mini cricket was launched in South Africa during the 1982-83 cricket season to encourage the growth and development of cricket amongst boys under 9 and girls under 12 years of age.
In its basic form, mini cricket consists of fast, scaled down games with eight children per team, Games last approximately one hour and one coach can supervise and instruct up to sixteen children simultaneously.
Among the many advantages on mini cricket is the low cost involved. The game can be played on any reasonable level surface and no pitch preparation or maintenance is involved. Mini cricket eliminates boredom and distraction often encountered at net practice among young children and the use of a specially formulated softball eliminates the fear of facing a hard ball and does away with the need for protective equipment such as pads and gloves.
The rules of mini cricket ensure that every child taking part will bat, bowl, keep wicket and field during the match. This prevents the domination of matches by better players and gives everyone an equal opportunity.